It is known to use wall panels having a thin outer sheet of fiberglass when constructing walls of various vehicles such as recreational vehicles, trailers, mobile homes, etc., because the thin fiberglass sheet presents an aesthetically pleasing surface. For example, one such wall panel consists of the fiberglass sheet adhered to a plywood substrate, such as by gluing. However, plywood substrates are susceptible to water damage, surface inconsistencies such as knots, irregular grain, etc., and joints between the plywood substrates of adjacent panels can be difficult to construct smoothly. As well, other known wall panels may have outer surfaces formed by other materials such as, but not limited to, polymer films, aluminum, etc.
Another known wall panel includes a fiberglass film adhered to a fiberglass/polypropylene substrate layer. These wall panels work well for planar wall sections, but tend to be fairly rigid. Difficulties can arise when using such wall sections in the front portions of trailers, recreational vehicles, etc., where it is often desirable to curve the wall, for example, where the top of a wall section joins an opposing roof panel. Attempts have been made to add more flexible top sections to such wall panels, which lead to additional manufacturing complexity, joints in the panels and subsequent cost increases. For example, top wall panel sections formed from plywood with multiple, shallow elongated grooves therein have been utilized to allow greater flexibility, as well as top sections including multiple elongated plywood strips adhered to a flexible base layer.
The present invention recognizes and addresses considerations of prior art constructions and methods.